Morning Market Report

Dow Jones up 46. The Dow was up 62 at best and down 71 at worst. US industrial production came in at -0.4% for September after +0.2% in October although the Federal Reserve said that hurricane Sandy reduced the number by around 1%. US markets were sold off early in the session but gained ground as Congressional leaders held a press conference on the progress of fiscal cliff negotiations. During the public statement, Senator Harry Reid said that officials would not wait until the last day of December, and could agree on the framework for a deal prior to the deadline. Congressional leaders and President Obama will meet again the week after Thanksgiving (22 November). The US twoyear bond yield was down 1bpt to 0.24% and the US 10 year yield was down 1bpt to 1.58%. Over the week the US 2 year yield fell was down 2.5bpts and US 10 year yields were down 3bpts. Bestsectors — utilities (+1.2%), consumer goods (+0.8%), health care (+0.7%) and financials (+0.7%). Worstsectors — telecoms (-0.6%). Metalsdown — copper down 0.47%, nickel down 1.31%, Aluminium down 0.95% and Lead down 1.29%. Over the week metal prices were generally higher, with zinc up 1.6% and lead down 0.8% and nickel was flat.

Billabong (BBG) — Potential takeover — The head of the company’s Americas division, Paul Naude is investigating a buyout of the company. Naude is believed to be gaining the support of financiers for a potential takeover. He has stepped aside from his role as director while he investigates the takeover plan. BBG is up 10.81% to 82c.

Boart Longyear (BLY) — Cuts costs — The company will move their Perth operations overseas to cut costs by around $US70m or 20% of their total overheads as they deal with lower demand. BLY is up 6.18% to 138c.

Mesoblast (MSB) — Has reaffirmed their alliance with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The company said they are committed to jointly developing innovative products for major cardiovascular and neurologic markets. MSB is up 1.34% to 377c.

Bank of Queensland(BOQ) — Has increased their convertible preference share offer to $250m from $200m due to strong demand. The margin for the offer, which opens Monday, has been set at 5.1%. BOQ is down 0.15% to 681c.

Santos (STO) — Has made a significant natural gas discovery in the Browse basin off the coast of WA which potentially opens up a new frontier for the company. The company has found a 61 metre gas column at a depth between 4,873 and 4,998 meters at its Crown-1 well and would keep drilling towards a planned total depth of 5,200 meters. STO is up 2.94% to 1120c.

Origin Energy (ORG) — The APLNG JV has begun drawing on their US$8.5 billion loan facility to fund their huge LNG project in QLD. This is the largest financing facility ever in Australia. The project is made up of Origin Energy, ConocoPhillips and China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec). ORG is up 2.13% to 1005c.

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